Ethiopic Didascalia

Platt 1834 historical front matter, source page 10

ii PREPACK " P J^fl«fA^ : Arab. |,jd«iil ^1 ikla^JjJI Didascalia, sive Doctrina, a Graeco AtSaa- KoKia. Revera libellus est ita dictus, Apostolis adscriptus, qui et apud Coptitas reperitur, et tertius est in CoUectione Canonum. Ignotus hucusque fiiit ecclesiae Romanac atque Graecae. Quisnam sit, plane incertum est, ait Beveregius in Aniiot. ad Procemia et Paraphr. Arab. Cone. Nicaen. p. 21 1. Europa nondum ilium vidit. Coptitis tantum notus est, a quibus vEthiopes ilium acceperunt. Triginta octo Canones continet, quorum capita infra Lib. iii. c. 4. cum lectoribus communicabimus." In the passage here referred to (Lib. iii. c. 4.), a Table of the Canons of the Didascaha, or rather, of the Titles of its Sections, is given, a copy of which is subjoined to this Preface. This Table was taken by Ludolf from a work of Wansleb's, which I have never seen, entitled " Histoire de I'E'ghse d'Alexandrie." Such is all the information that Ludolf was able to give respecting the Ethiopic Didascaha ; and later writers appear to have added Uttle or nothing to what he has stated. A few years after the publication of Ludolf s works, the Didascaha became a subject of controversy between two celebrated men of that time; the learned Dr. Grabe, and William Whiston. It is well known, that there is a Treatise containing various Rules of Chris- tian Doctrine and Discipline, called. The ApostoHcal Constitutions ; which was originally attributed to Clemens Romanus, and supposed to have been com- piled by him from the Instructions of the Apostles. It has long however been considered as the production of a much later age, and not of higher antiquity than the fourth, or, at any rate, the third century. In the edition of the Councils published by Labbe and Cossart (fol. Paris, 1671), the learned editors prefix to these Constitutions the following Note on the date of their composition : — " Sane ut dementis Romani foetum non esse, ita etiam erudite scriptori, qui 3° saltern seeulo floruerit, vindicandum, omnibus hodie persuasum esse video, inquit illust. de Marca, ConcordifE lib. iii. 2. p. 393. cum in illo commentario antiques disciplinae satis expressa vestigia supersint. An vero eaedem sint cum illis quarum Epiphanius meminit adversus haeresim Audianorum uberius alias disputabitur. Interim lege Petavium in notis ad Epiphan. et tom. II. dogm. theologicorum, Bellarminum de script, eccl. v. Clemens, Gabrielem Albaspineum ep. Aural, lib. I. observationum, cap. 13. § Certe si quis &c., qui S. Clementi abjudicant." In a later edition of the Councils, edited by Mansi, (Florent. 1759) it is argued, chiefly from points of internal evidence, that the true date of the Constitutions is about the beginning of the fourth century ; probably between the Council of lUiberis a.d. 309, and that of Nice, a.d. 325.